Gadgetory

well folks we kind of misread the situation waiting for the xperia x performance expecting more of a change from the Xperia X we've already reviewed if you watched that video we'd maybe recommend just skipping to the conclusion here as quite a bit of that review will be echoed in this device before us now for those of you who haven't watched the xperia x review let's dig in Sony's mission this year streamline focus on the features which really matter no more fun experiments like 4k displays however this streamlining approach for the hardware has not trimmed the price tag Sony is still very much positioning this as a premium offering even though it's now two letters lower in the alphabet getting the tech specs out of the way there aren't any surprises here our review unit packs a 5-inch 1080p LCD that resolution is fine for daily use but most flagships have moved up to quad HD and this LCD is not one of the easier screens to read outdoors from the regular Xperia X we move from a mid-range welcome 650 to the top-tier welcome 820 chipset but then pretty much everything else remains the same three gigabytes ram 32 gigabytes of storage 13 megapixel selfie camera and a 23 megapixel rear camera oh and the battery capacity creeps up from two thousand six hundred and twenty milliamp hour to two thousand seven hundred milliamp hour and for people dropping an Xperia outside of the United States you'll get this handy power button fingerprint sensor which is much improved over last year's z5 but sadly buying one here in the United States means this feature will be removed this is all fine Hardware perfectly usable it does the gig well but we can't shake the feeling that we're getting a nice Toyota at a loaded Lexus price at least in terms of style the X performance mostly looks the part this year's Xperia will look familiar to Sony aficionados it's a hard rectangular look which more than once I've compared to the monolith from 2001 and I'm recycling the shot here because my photoshop skills are terrible and it makes me laugh it is a sexy-looking device with its brushed metal back but there were some slight QA issues with our review these seams on the bottom edge slightly distract from an otherwise clean look and the side panels separating from the foam body after pulling out the SIM card tray the xperia is rated ip68 water-resistant but with this bowing on the pieces here we couldn't confidently test that water resistance one reason why we might spend more on a phone is to better guarantee that potential manufacturing issues are sorted out before they reach consumers now Sony software offerings are also a bit conservative subtle tweaks throughout the user interface like more colorful icons are eye-pleasing but the actual function well resembles a stock Android layout the app drawer has an extra page for recommending apps but otherwise it's easy to scroll through to get to what you want there is a little uninstall able bloat like AVG but additional services like these are kept to a minimum sony includes a few branded apps like a widget to walk you through setting the device up any PlayStation 4 companion app sadly I still Rock a ps3 so I was unable to test this feature all of the software is well powered by the Qualcomm chip set and you'll rarely encounter lag or jank when tackling the basics the 820 is plenty powerful though we do have some concerns over thermal throttling when taxing this hardware we see some framerate drops in games like implosion after only a single mission and checking out benchmarking scores it doesn't take much to get this phone to slow down this is readily noticeable when using the camera like the Xperia X the X performance just runs warm the X will shut off the camera after around 9 minutes of video while the X performance extended that runtime to 13 minutes of video mind you this was 1080p video under air-conditioning with the screen about half bright out in California summer heat we would start getting thermal warnings after as little as 20 seconds of video recording but actually using the camera will be an exercise in frustration for many folks in our audience Sony's disorganized collection of auto modes and hidden settings makes this one of the more unfamiliar photography solutions we've yet tested extremely unreliable autofocus twitchy software stabilization a fringe and flare prone lens and a of seen modes when really we could just use with a true full-featured manual mode and maybe an easier way to force an HDR shot oh and for folks who like to edit raw support would definitely be nice the situation gets worse looking at video where this phone delivers somewhat mediocre 1080p footage with no options to move up to quad HD or UHD video not that you'd be able to use those modes for long giving the phone's thermal issues it's really a shame as this is a fantastic image sensor and you can coax some great shots out of it but the entire rest of the phone lets it down as a photography solution the worst sin of all it's just not much fun to use audio playback is also something of a disappointment the front-facing speakers are respectable though outclassed by HTC in this price range headphone audio however is particularly sad we're a long way removed from the classic days of Sony standing as a multimedia juggernaut the Xperia X has a fairly weak amp paired up with a DAC that sports numbers almost as bad as the built-in DAC on the LG g5 for a flagship it has some of the poorest signal to noise and distortion performance we've yet tested lastly looking at battery life we just shouldn't expect much from a powerful phone which runs warm and has a smaller than average battery this 2700 milliamp hour cell struggles to keep up with other phones in this tier using our media test streaming 30 minutes of HD video over Wi-Fi at 190 Lux the X performance drained almost 12% of its battery showing us even worse performance than the regular Xperia X this just might be the worst performing phone we've tested this year and those numbers were mirrored during our camera review shoots a galaxy s7 could easily make it to mid-afternoon shooting you HD video while connected to LTE the X performance was dead after lunchtime shooting photos and HD video while in airplane mode in recharging the phone the recharge speeds are respectable but again far from impressive 30 minutes on a quick charger delivered a 28% recharge so let's wrap this up where does that leave us with the sony xperia x / 4 yeah this one was tough folks reviews are largely subjective accounts of a person's experience with a gadget though we do try not to let our personal preferences overly color how we use in test Afon and i have to admit to not being able to fully partake of the sony eco system lacking a current playstation but i can't believe that's a significant omission as it pertains to daily smartphone use every brand carries fans and critics and sony is no different continuing a long reputation for building stylish consumer electronics Tony for example will likely go on to use this phone as either his daily driver or his backup once I send it back to him but I personally can't shake the feeling that this device asks a lot of Sony fans to keep using this brand none of these compromises our absolute deal-breakers but we also can't find any areas where this phone scores significant victories when stepping outside of the Sony fan base I find little compelling reason for someone to switch to a Sony at this time unless someone loves the look and form factor of this phone the premium price tag doesn't seem to deliver any benefits over similarly priced flagships and this handset struggles to compete against this year's crop of mid rangers after retiring the Xperia Z the entire ex lineup represents a drastic shift in philosophy for Sony and many transition devices were a bit rough around the edges we can only hope that future xperia x phones are better refined and well rounded products as always thanks so much for watching be sure to subscribe to this channel for more reviews like these and help us out with some sharing on your favorite social networks for pocket now i'm juan carlos bag now some gadget guy on twitter and instagram and i will catch you all on the next review